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WanderNerd

Route Reliability

Los Angeles → Detroit

LAXDTW · 1,979 miles · Los Angeles International Airport to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport

86
Pretty Reliable
WanderNerd Reliability Score
83%
Arrive within 15 minutes
3 min
Average arrival delay
1.1%
Cancelled
2,603
Flights in the data

Data through May 2026.

Who flies it best

Ranked by on-time arrivals. Historical results, not predictions.

  1. 1.Delta Air Lines84%1,999 flights
  2. 2.Spirit Airlines80%602 flights

Not enough history to rank: American Airlines (2 flights). We rank airlines only after 100 flights on the route.

What the data says

The 3–6 AM departure wins.

LAX–DTW flights departing between 3–6 AM arrived on time 90% of the time, versus 51% between 12–3 AM.

Skip Thursday if you can.

LAX–DTW flights arrived on time 87% of the time on Wednesdays. On Thursdays: 79%.

Delta Air Lines has a slight edge here.

Delta Air Lines arrived on time 84% of the time on this route; Spirit Airlines managed 80%.

Ticking up lately.

LAX–DTW flights arrived on time 82% of the time over the last three months in the data, compared with 77% in the three months before that.

Best historical flights

Ranked by on-time arrivals, minimum 100 flights. Past performance, not a promise.

Top flights by on-time rate

More flights on this route

The breakdown

On-time by weekday
  • Mon80%(379 flights)
  • Tue86%(359 flights)
  • Wed87%(355 flights)
  • Thu79%(369 flights)
  • Fri84%(380 flights)
  • Sat82%(351 flights)
  • Sun83%(376 flights)
On-time by departure window
  • 12–3 AM51%(37 flights)
  • 3–6 AM90%(250 flights)
  • 6–9 AM89%(395 flights)
  • 9 AM–12 PM86%(564 flights)
  • 12–3 PM77%(254 flights)
  • 3–6 PM80%(370 flights)
  • 9 PM–12 AM80%(699 flights)
On-time trend by month
84%
May

Jun 79% → May 84% on time

On-time arrival percentage by month
MonthOn-time percentageFlights
June 202579%244
July 202585%259
August 202585%242
September 202589%228
October 202592%234
November 202589%183
December 202576%209
January 202678%200
February 202677%176
March 202677%206
April 202684%205
May 202684%183

Based on 2,603 historical flights, because apparently we checked. Historical flight data: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, June 2025 – May 2026. Data through May 2026. How we calculate this.